Well this new show doesn't waste time. Right from the start we are thrust into a situation that defines the lead, Marshal Raylan Givens. He is a slow-burning all or nothing lawman that is a quickdraw that the old west would have immortalized.
Of course that same ability, penchant really, to take down the bad guy permanently leads our hero into hot water. So hot that he is forced to leave his position in Miami and sent back to the Kentucky backwoods that were his home. Obviously he is no fan of going back to his hometown, but less of a fan of being unemployed (I imagine the Obama Stimulus doesn't help the U.S. Marshals either).
Once back he learns that an old friend took a bad turn, becoming a neo-nazi and more than willing to burn, blow-up, kill or otherwise create havok in his desire to get money. The story at this point becomes somewhat predictable.
Timothy Olyphant plays Marshal Givens. He is not far from his character in Live Free or Die Hard, in that he is determined and smooth in his actions. His character is somewhat of a minimalist, a man of few words and generally low key. Even so he gives off a clear indication of having no remorse for those he kills in the line of duty, and having a very strong sense of honor (giving certain criminals the option of leaving town before he comes after them).
Overall the character is likeable. Olyphant makes him believeable, but also quite predictable. There are no surprises in the character. But that might be the fault of the writers or director. Still the acting is better than average.
For the first episode everyone else is in the background. Obviously there will be the recurring character of his former best friend Boyd (Walton Goggins). Boyd seems to have saved the life of Givens back when the 2 were 19 and working in a coal mine. A guess, but it seems likely.
The co-workers of Marshal Givens are barely seen, though we know that one is a sniper of some skill. There is a Black woman who is competent and very serious. Plus a boss who is a great match for Givens in that he doesn't care much how things get done, as long as they get done. All of these things may change once we get to see more of these characters than the 2 minutes of screentime in the opening episode.
None of that matters really. The key to any television show is how it makes you feel after watching it. Did you enjoy it? Was it worth seeing again? Is there anything that caught your attention?
As for how it makes you feel, Justified hasn't really given the viewer much to go on. You like Marshal Givens. You can see potential in some of the characters around him. But you just aren't sure what you think about it.
What did catch the attention is the attraction of an old friend who once had a crush on Givens. She killed her abusive husband with a shotgun while he was eating dinner. She has made it clear she still likes Givens. And I would not want to be the man that pisses this woman off. Which you know Givens will do at some point.
Watching the show you just get the feeling that like it's rustic surroundings, it has meat but you are wondering where the potatoers are. There just is something missing, and you can't quite place your finger on it. Maybe it was the speed in which Boyd was introduced and then removed - at least for a while. Maybe its the way all the characters have immediate connections to Givens that we never got to see develop. Maybe it's because the defining purpose of this drama has yet to be revealed.
That may be it. Marshal Givens needs something to drive him, and thus the viewer as well. If we get to see that in the next episode or 2 this could become a very intersting show. If we don't, the show will likely not make it another season.
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